NCSOFT teams up with Vietnamese unicorn VGN to tap SE Asian market

South Korea’s gaming behemoth NCSOFT Corp. has set up a joint venture with Vietnamese tech unicorn VNG Corp. to tap into Southeast Asia starting with the release of its popular mobile massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Lineas2M this year.

NCSOFT said on Wednesday it established NCV Games in Vietnam, which oversees the service and operation of its intellectual property in Southeast Asia. The joint venture is set to introduce NCSOFT’s games to six major countries in the region such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines.

“NCV Games will serve as a pivotal foundation for NCSOFT to deliver new, innovative experiences in the Southeast Asian market,” said NCSOFT founder and CEO Kim Taek-jin.

The regional gaming market is projected as high as $14.8 billion with the number of mobile game users estimated to be around 250 million, according to research firm Mordor Intelligence.

TO EXPAND INTO NON-GAMING BUSINESSES

VNG is Vietnam’s first tech unicorn, or startup valued at $1 billion or more, and has a gaming unit VNGGames, which published around 130 titles in Southeast Asia.

“With NCSOFT's rich history in the gaming industry and VNGGames' publishing capabilities, we are poised to bring blockbuster Korean games to players in Vietnam and Southeast Asia,” said VNG founder and CEO Le Hong Minh.

The partnership with VNG is expected to help NCSOFT expand its businesses into non-gaming sectors such as mobile messaging, electronic payments and entertainment in the region, industry sources in Seoul said, as the Vietnamese company provides various online services including Zalo, the country’s most popular messaging app.

The South Korean company plans to maintain NCSOFT Vietnam Visual Studio established in 2020 despite the joint venture. The company’s Vietnamese unit has been supporting design works for its masterpiece Throne and Liberty MMORPG released last year.

NCSOFT has overseas units in various key markets such as the US, Europe, Japan and Taiwan.

Write to Ju-Hyun Lee at deep@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.